Dough twisting machine



Sept. 5, 1939. F, VAN ALLEN 2,172,268

DoUGH TwIsTING MACHINE F'iled Sept. 2l, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet l 5/ -z7 fz d f5 w a Z 4"! /J f4 D L x50 l QLYVANAL/.EA/ 9% Sept. 5, 1939. F. VAN ALLEN 2,172,268

DOUGH TWISTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 2l, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 /06 x05 44 4g 47 Ja .if 42 x07 4/ 4g /f 5g 1L .f @fw 1l 454346# Oo/Jf ZJ l Y 4J Z fz Z 55 o 51 d J4 /04 46 155 f D 54 f0.0 #6 x20 ""f w ol /Z M9 J4 I M0 #e /44 lI y E Z f/J x45 fzz l I' l Z l zza l (I I T-' JI 0 f1.3

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d2 J ff/ l df 7- u Jl .Q6 0599 l /NVfNTo/e Slept. 5, 1939. F. l.. VAN ALLEN 2,172,268

DOUGH TWISTING MACHlNE l Filed Sept. 2l, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 5J Qz /07 Pl M6 l" l (65' i l?. 05 (4Z /N WSA/Toe F. L. VAN ALLEN Wyo.

sePf- 5, 1939- F. L. VAN ALLEN 2,172,268

DOUGH TWI S-TING MACHINE Filed Sept. 21, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 /M/fA/To.J .L VAN ALL/:N BY ff TTY@ Patented Sept. 5, 1939 UNiTED STATES PATENT "OFFICE 2,172,268 DOUGH TWISTING MACHINE Frederic Langtry van Allen, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, assigner of twenty-two and one-half per cent to Ambrose Paoli, twenty-two and one- Y half per cent to Clifford N. Lush, and twenty per cent to Cecil C. Kent, all of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Application September 21, 1936, Serial No. .101,877 17 Claims. (Cl. 10j-8) My invention relates to improvementsindough spiral travel, 'the peg being shown in front twisting machines, an object of the invention beelevation.

ing to provide a device which will receive an Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation of my clutch elongated strip ci rolled dough, fold the same at mechanism and driving pulley, showing the solethe center thereof, and twist the two halves of noid in side elevation. 5

the strip each around the other, simultaneously Fig. 8 is a section taken on the line 8-8 Figimparting a twist to each half of the strip itself ure 7. 5 so that when each half of the strip is twisted Fig. 9 is an interior view oi the switch boX. around the other, there will be no tendency to Fig. l0 is a diagrammatic view illustrating ap- 10 untwist in view of the tortion existing in each proximately the sequence of actions which take l0 half of the strip. place in my machine during one revolution of A further object of my invention is to provide the driving pulley.

means for twisting bread dough which will not Fig. 1l is a section upon the line ll-II Figpossess a heavily floured surface. Y ure 1. y

A further object of my invention is to provide Fig. l2 is a perspective view of my spiral insert 15 a device which will receive an elongated strip of viewed in situ from the left side of the machine. rolled dough and will twist the two halves thereof Fig. 13 is a detail of the follower mechanism about each other and discharge the same from associated withv the wiping arrangement. the machine at relatively high speed. Fig. 14 is a perspective detail of my vviper plate A further object of my invention is to provide and associated mechanism. 2() a machine of the character herewithin described Fig. l5 is an illustration upon the line l5-l5 which will successfully discharge twisted dough of Figure 6, showing the manner in which the strips therefrom. individual strands of the twisted dough strip are A further object of my invention is to provide Wound against each other, the outer arrow india device for twisting rolled dough in such a way eating the direction of the coils about each other 25 4that the strands thereof will remain twisted and the inner arrows indicating the direction of about each other from end to end. torsion in the individual strands.

A further object of my invention is to provide In the drawings like characters of reference means for twisting a strand of rolled dough indicate corresponding parts in the different about itself and in association with means for figures. f 30 pinching one end of the strand, afterwards dis- My invention consists essentially of a bed plate charging the same from the machine. A uponv which is mounted the main drive mech- With the above more important objects in view anism B actuating my device, a vertically disand such other minor objects as may appear as posed standard assembly C being secured to the the specification proceeds, my invention consists bed plate. y 35 essentially in the arrangement and construction Situated at the apex ofthe standard assemof parts all as hereinafter more particularly debly, I provide a rotatable head section D in front scribed, reference being had to the accompanyof which is located wiping mechanism E. ing drawings, in which: The general principle of operation which will 40 Fig. 1 is a front elevation of my machine, cerbe hereinafter more fully described consists of 40 tain parts thereof being shown broken. means for rotating the head section in a spiral Fig. 2 is a side yelevation of Figure l. path upon a main vertical shaft, the head section Fig. 3 is a plan view of my invention, consisting essentially of a pair of offset parallel Fig. 4 is a plan view oi a portion of the actuatlying opposed troughs into which an elongated ing mechanism. strip of rolled bread dough is deposited, the cen- 45 Fig. 5 is an illustration showing a strip of bread ter of the strip falling over a peg which projects dough partially twisted and hanging on the peg, in a horizontal direction above and between the the troughs being in course of their downward two troughs, the troughs themselves consisting spiral travel, the peg being shown in side eleof a plurality of rollers which twist the two halves vation. of the strip -of dough against each other as the 50 Fig. 6 is an illustration showing the strip of head spirals downwardly, in this way causing the twisted bread dough hanging vertically on the strip of dough to gradually assume a hanging peg in the act oi being pinched and immediately positionupon the peg, feed rollers means being prior to being wiped thereoi, the troughs having provided between the troughs to control the rate nearly reached the lower end of their downward at which the two halves of the dough strip feed 55 two halves being each half being end of the twisted strip immediately prior toits being wiped off the peg.

My standard assembly C which is mounted upon the bed plateA, consists ot 1a vertically disapex of which is attached a Yvertically disposed cylindrical sleeve ||2, a tie bar 5 being horizon- Y tally disposed and attached at eachrend to the members and"3 respectively in the manner shown.

.Journalled for rotation in the bed plate A is main spindle 6, the spindle a pair of horizontally disposed and offset/arms I0 andV I E11. Inner end plates I I are disposed upon Y the centervportionll in offset relation to each other, outer end plates I2 being formed `'upon the ends of the arms` Il) and |01 in opposed relation to the inner end plates.

The inner and outer end plates are provided Y .to each other, thus form a pair of offset `and parallel opposed troughs I5 an |51. Y

`At the outer end of eachof the axles I3 is a,

pulley I 6., whichV is keyed thereto and the ar- Y rangement is such that a belt later to be de-V scribed, which is in peripheral engagement with each pulley, will cause the rollers of the troughs I5 and |51 to rotate inopposite directions, the rollers of the trough|5 rotating in a clockwise n viewed from the right, andl the rollers of the trough |51 rotating in a counter clockwise direction due to the fact that Vthe downward spiralling of thehead D is in a clockwise direction viewed in plan. Y

At each upper cornerjof the outer end plates is a pulley II, each ofl these pulleys being mounted uponY a.. short stub shaft which is mounted in the plate I2. The head casting 8 is provided at each end of the arms I0 thereof, Witha .downwardly projecting earY I8 which serves as a bearng'for a pair of short shafts I9 and |91 upon each of which is keyed adjacent they ends thereof, a pulley 20.

v231 which are keyed At the extreme end of the shaft I9 is keyed a smaller pulley 2| and upon the opposite end of the shaft |91 is keyed a similar pulleyV 2|1. Belts 22 and 221 engage the pulleys 2| and 2I1 respectively and also 8, is a sleeve 28, and upon either side of the sleeve,

looking towards lthe front of the machine, is a vertically disposed anged slot 29. The sleeve moves vertically up and down with the spiral action of the head section, but is prevented from rotation by means of a pair of roller bearings 30, each of which are secured to a shank 3| which is journalled in the forked bearingportion 32 of the tie bar 5. Adjacent the upperv end of the 33V and 331 formed thereupon, and Y around ,which pass belts 34 and 341 respectively. These;

belts engageein the groove of each of the pulleys I 6 so that each semicircular group thereofV is caused to rotate the same Way and from-this clockwise direction when viewed from the right, due to the fact that the sleeve 28 is nonrotatable.

By this arrangement, the right hand half of the dough strip will rotate in a clockwise direction and the left hand half in a counter clockwise direction, viewed from the right hand side. s

35 illustrated in Figure l2, this insert being provided with a spiralslot 36 which extends from end to end thereof.

Upon the main spindle 6 is a pin 31 which travel,

travels downwardly into the hollow body thereof, the bed plate being deep enough to receive that. portion of the shaft which moves thereinto.

In the operation of my machine, an elonan adjacentv conveyorv onto the troughsY I5, one half of the Strip the other half Vinto the trough |51.V The center of Ythe strip, however, will fall over a peg l`4I, the peg being actually the end portion of a shaft 42. This shaft is slidably a sleeve 43 which is pivoted as at 44 upon the corner bearing 45 of therhead bracket 2.

The shafta42 is normally held in the position the inner ends thereof being.

fallingrinto the trough I5 and mounted upon indicated in Figure 2 with chain lines by means of a light spring 46, one end of which is secured to the sleeve 43, the other being clipped to the head bracketl2.

Y The position shown in full lines is that which this member would occupy when depressed below the horizontal byr a casting 41 which in part consists of a sleeve 48 which surrounds the shaft 42, the sleeve being hung upon a bolt 49 Yhaving a threaded end which passes through the end of the horizontal arm of the head bracket and is secured by nuts. The shaft 42 isV free to end-shift within the sleeve 48 and in the operation later to be described, retracts while the dough is hanging over it. For this reason, the casting 41 consists also in a horizontally disposed extension 56 to the end of which is secured a vertical face plate I having an orifice therein through which the peg 4I projects.

This orifice is a sliding t for the peg and the face plate serves the purpose of preventing any dough which sticks to the peg from being retracted to the rear thereof, thereby avoiding the possibility of any dough fouling the sleeve 48.

The rear end of the shaft 42 extends into a switch box 52 which is mounted by means of the bracket 53 to the head bracket 2. The switch box is of conventional design being illustrated in Figure 9 and-forms no part of the present invention but from this gure which is added for illustrative purposes, it will be seen that the rear end of the shaft 42 is provided with a deep forked portion 54 which spans a stud 55, this stud projecting from one arm of a bell crank 56 pivoted above a pin 51.

The upper end of the bell crank is provided with a collar which holds a curved glass tube 511 containing mercury 58 and from an inspection of this figure, it will clearly be seen that when the peg 4l is depressed by the weight of the dough, the shaft 42 pivots about the corner bearing 45 and thus moves the bell crank in the direction of the arrow.

This causes the mercury within the tube 511 to travel to the opposite end thereof and when it has thus travelled to this location, it causes contact to be established between the terminals of a pair of leads 59, the opposite ends of which are attached to a solenoid 60, which is also of conventional design and forms no part of the present invention. Upon completion of a circuit between the switch box and the solenoid, the curved end 6| of the solenoid armature is retracted.

This permits a pivoted lever 62 mounted on a bearing 621 to rotate in the direction of the arrow upon Fig. 8, the rotation being caused by a spring 63, one end of which is suitably secured, while the other is held in tension, being attached to an arm 631 forming part of a pivoted pawl 64. The arm 631 is provided with a slot 641 through which extends a pin 642 projecting outwardly from the pivoted extension 643 of the lever 62. lThe pawl is mounted for engagement with a ratchet 65, mounted upon the hub of a driving wheel 66, and from the mechanism just described, can be seen that when the end 6I of the solenoid armature is withdrawn, the lever 62 will spring in a clockwise direction under the influence of the spring 63 which will pull the arm 631 in a counterclockwise direction together with the pawl to which it is attached, thereby causing the said pawl to engage with one of the ratchets.

By the time that one revolution of the clutch mechanism and .the pulley has been made, the end 6I of the armature is again in projected position and is struck by the lever 62, which at this time is slightly inclined towards the right. When it hits the member 6| it reverts to the position shown, and causes disengagement of the pawl.

The driving pulley 66 is freely mounted upon a main drive shaft 61 being secured thereupon b-y a collar and set screw 68 and upon this drive shaft is also keyed the housing 69 of the clutch mechanism just described, the main shaft being journalled upon bearings and 1|. It should here be noted that the fixed end of the spring 63 is secured to this housing.

Upon contact being established between the switch box 52 and the solenoid with the resultant withdrawal of the pin 6l, the pawl and ratchet mechanism just described engage one with the other, thus causing rotation of the main drive shaft 61 one complete revolution ina clockwise direction, viewed from the iight of Fig. 1 or the front of the machine.

Upon the end of the main drive shaft 61 is keyed a bevel gear 12 which engages with a horizontally disposed downwardly facing bevel gear 13. This gear is keyed to a spindle 14 which extends vertically within a hollow bearing 15. A collar 16 is provided upon. the spindle 14 and the spindle and gear are prevented from rising by means of a second collar 11 which is secured in the upper end of the bearing 15.

The gear 'i3 and the member 19 are each provided with a hub 18 for the purpose of spacing the one from the other, and located eccentrically upon the upper surface of the member 19, I provide a drilled bearing portion. 8i through which extends the angulated end of an arm 32.

This arm is linked to a. rack 83, upon the end of which is: a rack guide 84 which bears against a vertically disposed T-bar 65 secured at its lower end to the bed plate and so mounted for the pur pose of maintaining the toothed edge of the rack 83 in engagement with a pinion 86. This pinion is mounted upon the apex of a shaft 81 which is journalled in a vertically disposed hollow bearing 88 and keyed to the shaft below the pinion 86 and spaced therefrom by means of a pair of hubs 881 is located the spur gear .39, already referred to, the hubs belonging to the pinion 86 and the gear 38.

The ratio of movement which the various members of the aforementioned mechanism bear to each other is` such that one complete revolution of the pulley 66 causes three complete revo lutions of the gear 38 clockwise, and three counter clockwise which obviously imparts a similar movement to the head section D. Downward spiral of the head section is e-iected by the course of the pin 31 down. the track 36 in the insert and in this connection, it should be noted that prior to entering the slot, the pin rotates around the upper edge of the insert to a predetermined arc of its circumference for a reason later to be described.

The element 89 of. the Geneva action 86 is mounted upon a shaft journalled within a hollow vertically disposed bearing 90 and below the element 89 and spaced therefrom by a pair or hubs 9| is a. pinion 92 engageable with a smaller pinion 93, the hubs Si forming part of the members 89 and 92.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that upon va Vpartial, revolution of the member 19, the rack 881 being those 'shaft 6 and head D three complete revolutions. 1 When, this has occurred and the Vhead section is at the lower end of its travel, the pin.4| is retracted as previously mentioned, this retraction being effected through the medium of a periphl eral cam 94 keyed to the shaft 61, together with rod and crank mechanis This rod and crank mechanism consists of an end-shiftable rod 95 mounted upon, a. link 96 journalled in a bearing 91 secured to the'bed plate A. At the forward end of the rod is a ferrule 98 upon which is rotatably mounted a. small follower 99 engagea-ble with the cam 94. When the breast |00 of the cam 94 rides over the follower, a bell crank action |0|, |0|1, and'll2 journalled in a pair of bearings |02 upon the bed plate, is rotated in the direction ofthe arrow which results in the downward movement of the linked rod |03. The upper end of this rod'is mounted .upon a bellfcrank 94 pivoted upon the head bracket 2, the bifurcated arm |05 thereof, being swung tothe left when, the breast of the cam 94 rides over the follower. A divided link |06, clearly illustrated in Fig. 3, receives at the rear end thereof, a transverse pin |91 which extends through a small bearing |98 formed upon the shaft 42. Y Y

Substantially simultaneously with Ythe retraction of the peg 4| in the manner' described, the hanging strips of twisted dough are wiped onto a platform by means of, one or Vother of a pair of Wiper plates |09 and |091 actuated by means of a wiper shaft ||0 to which the aforementioned `pinion 93 is keyed.

This shaft restsrin a bearing vin the bed plate A and extends vertically to be maintained in position, at its upper end by a cylindrical sleeve 2 which is mounted at the apex of the upright 3. At Vthe apex of the sleeve ||2,Yis a cylinder cam ||3 of the `configurationclearly shown in 'Y Figs. 2 and 3 integral with the cylindrical sleeve upper end of the link arms ||5 and H51.

and keyed tothe apex of the shaft ||0 is a cast-` ing ||4 consisting of a pairl of opposed offset The center of this casting consists of a hub portion HS diametrically disposed with respect to which I provide bearings ||1. Y

At the outer end of each of the arms H5 and ||51 I provide a further bearing ||9 in longitudinal alignment with the bearings ||1 and through each pair of `bearings ||1 and H8, I journal a rod ||9 and H91. The outer ends of each of, these' rods terminate in the previously mentioned wiper plates |09 they are keyed and adjacent the. inner end kof each rod and also keyed thereto, I provide an offset lug |20 to one end of link 2|.

The pin |22 extends through the free end of the link |2| and upon this pin is journalled a second link |23, this link normally held at the same angle of inclinationv as the Vlug |20. The

|23Vis provided with a pin |24 which extends `into a bearingV |25 upon V.the

hubY portion ||6 below each of the bearings |11.

A followerr|26 is journalled upon the end of the pin |22, this follower being designed to ride over the cam surface |21 of the cylindrical cam 3. It should be noted, that the wiper blades |09 and |091 are maintained in a horizontal downturned position by means of a spring `|28 which-encircles the shaft |9land-Li |91, one end will now be described.

` mounted upon a and |091 to which which is attached a of the spring being received into the small drill? ing in the center portion of the casting |29, the otherend of the spring being received into a similar drilling upon the bearing HB. 1

From the foregoing, it will be seen that upon the rotation a quarter of one revolution Vof the element 89 of the Genevaracton 80 by the inem: ber 19, the shaft H0 will rotate 90, together .with the wiper plates kwhich aremounted at the apex thereof. As the Wiper plates are rotated in this manner, the cam arrangement just described, will cause the plates to gradually assume a vertical position as they circle towards the peg 4| through the configuration of the cam surface |21 over which the. followers |26 ride and as soon as the wiper |09 or gradually flattens out into the horizontal downturned position once more. j

The sequence of action is such that the dough is side swiped by the plate immediately the peg veyor, orv the like, which forms no part of this invention.

When the troughs I5 and |51 have spiralled downwards sufficiently far to leave the dough hanging in a twisted condition, a pair'of offset and opposed pinching fingers |30 and |301 rotate to pinch the lower end of the twisted dough strip together. These members travelV in the direction of the arrows shown in Fig. 3, Vthese fingers being actuated by a link and cam arrangement which Referring to Figt 3, it will be seen that a pin |3| extends vertically through the lower right hand corner of the center portion 9,' the lnger being keyed to the upper end of the pin, while a lever |32 is keyed to the lower end thereof, "beneath the centerr portion. A link |33 is attached to the free end of the lever |32, the free end of this member being attached to one armV of a bell crank |94 pivoted to the lower left hand corner of the center portion 9, stillreferring to Fig. 3. A link |35 is pivoted to the remaining arm of the bell crank |34 and extends rearwardly to be attached to one arm of a second bell crank |36 which is also pivoted to the rear left hand or top left hand corner of the center portion 9. rhe pin |31 upon which this member isI pivoted, extends through the center portion and; to the upper end thereof is keyed the nger |30.

To the remaining arm of the bell crank |36 is a link |38 which terminates in a rocker arm |39 vertically disposed pin |40 located upon the under side'and adjacent the -extremity of an armV |01. This rocker arm terminates at the oppositeend thereof in a cam follower |4|, said cam follower being designed to engage with a strap cam |42 of the configuration clearly shown Yin Fig. 3 attached to the head bracket 2.

When the head `section is approaching the lower` end of its travel, the effect of the movel ment of the follower over the breast` portion |43 'of the cam |091 has` passed below the peg, it

4| has retracted rearwardly in the manner delower end of the hanging twisted dough stripnwill take placeimmediately prior to Vthe side swiping action and the widthdrawal of the pin 4|, and

Vfrom theV curvature of the cam |42, it will be seen that the ngers return to the position shown in Fig. 3 as the head continues its spiral descent.

Upon the commencement of the spiral upward travel of the head, the fingers |30 and |301 will perform an idle pinching action vand then return again to the position shown in Fig'. 3, under the influence of the spring |44 which extends around the pin |40, one end being secured to the pin head |45 secured to the endof the pin |40, the other to the pivoted hub portion of the rocker arm |39 which is journalled upon the said pin.

I would mention at this point, that the cam follower 99 is kept in contact with the face of the cam 94 by means of a'pair of springs |46, one end of each of which is secured within a small drilling upon the inner side of each of the bearings |02, while the opposite end of each of the said springs is received into a drilling upon the rod |0|2 which 'forms part of the bell crank action illustrated most clearly in Figs. 2 and 4 for the purpose of transmitting motion from the rod 95 to. the rod |03.

In describing the structure of my dough twisting mechanism as illustrated, it should be mentioned that a very important function is performed by the corrugated rollers 21 and 211. As previously mentioned, each of these rotates in opposite directions, the roller 21 in a clockwise direction, looking towards the front of the machine when the head is at the top of itsl spiral return travel, and the roller 211 in a counter clockwise direction when the head is in this position.

The reason for the provision of these two rollers is to urge the two halves of the twisted dough strip lying in the troughs l5 and |51 around each other as they hang upon the peg 4| and the head descends. The provision of these rollers is largely instrumental in preventing one or the other of the two halves of the twisted dough strip from hanging in a more or less vertical position with the other strip coiling around it. With this arrangement, they both coil uniformly around each other.

It should be observed that when looking towards the front of the machine, the upper entrance |41 of the spiral slot 36 is upon the left hand side or with respect to a plane extending from front to rear of the machine at the center or right hand side thereof, and when the head is at the top of its spiral travel, the pin 31 is directed towards the front of the machine. Thus, when a strip of dough falls over the peg 4| and into the troughs, thereby closing the circuit already described, the head rotates horizontally in a clockwise direction before the pin 41 enters the slot.

The purpose of this arrangement is to make up for the vertical distance between the peg 4| and the troughs I5 and |51 and to insure that the commencement of the first twist will be substantially uniform with the remaining twists in the dough which take place as the head descends.

In Fig. 10 I have shown a diagrammatic view illustrating approximately the sequence of action which takes place in one revolution of the pulley 66, this diagram being only approximately correct and being introduced for illustrative purposes only.

It has been previously mentioned herein that one revolution of the driving pulley 66 represents a complete cycle of operations in the machine from the time the head D commences its downward travel to the time it returns to its original upper position, the arc |48 representing the downward spiral travel of the troughs, and the arc |49 representing the upward spiral travel return thereof, the vertically disposed diametric line |50 representing the starting point.

At the point of rotation of the driving pulley 66 represented by the diametrically disposed line |501, the operation of the pinching fingers |30 and |301 commences, this operation being concluded and the ngers returning to their normal position by the time the pulley has rotated to the diametrically disposed line |5I. The sector |52 between the diametrically disposed lines |5| and |53 represents the distance which the troughs travel downwardly after the outer ends of the dough have left the troughs and the same are hanging twisted around each other upon the peg 4|.

The sector |55 between the lines |54 and |56, represents the portion of the revolution of the driving pulley 66 during which the circuit between the switch and the clutch solenoid is broken by the removal of the dough from the peg.

'Ihe sector |51, between the lines |54 and |58 represents the rotation of the wiper mechanism, while the sector |59, between the lines |58 and |60 represents the remainder of the return of the travel of the head.

The operation of the clutch mechanism is believed clearly apparent from Figs. '1 and 8.

At this point I would draw attention to the operation of the switch clutch mechanism and the solenoid 6| in which it will be noted that contact between the leads 59 and the solenoid 6| is broken as soon as the dough is wiped off the peg. This removal of the downward pressure exerted by the dough, causes a spring 46 to rotate the rod 42 about the pivotal point 44 which causes the rear forked end 54 thereof within the switch box 52 to rotate downwardly, thereby causing the tube 511 to travel in a counter clockwise direction, which will precipitate the mercury therein to the left hand end thereof. As soon as this takes place, the pin 6| in the solenoid is spring shot, and is ready to be struck by the lever 62, first disengaging the ratchet 63 when the same is rotated one revolution, at which point, of course, another strip of dough falls upon the peg, and the cycle of operations, mechanical and electrical already described, is repeated.

In Fig. l5, I have illustrated a cross section of the twisted dough strip forward by my machine, the curved radiating lines indicating the direction of distortion which the grain is caused to take as the individual strands are twisted. From this illustration, it will be seen that each strand is subjected to a clockwise tortion, while the two strands wind around each other in a counter clockwise direction. The grain of each strand tends to cause the same to unwind in a counter clockwise direction and it is this same tendency for each strand to unwind against each other both in a counter clockwise direction which causes the twisted rolled dough strip to remain in a twisted condition after it has left the machine, this problem of maintaining the twist, being one which has hitherto been unsolved to the best of my knowledge and belief, in the art of twisting dough for twisted loaves.

It will be noted with reference to Figs. 5 and 6, that I have shown substantially vertical lines upon the dough strips, these illustrating the appearance of the grain on the surface of the twisted strips when a roll is being twisted.

I would finally mention that my troughs |5 and |51 are offset for the purpose of facilitating the twisting of one strand of dough around the other,

as I have found that if the troughs are in alignment one with the other, one coil will wind around the other while the latter remains vertical.

'I'he function of my corrugated feed rollers 21 and 211 is also most important, as the corrugations thereof bite into one or the other of the dough strips as clearly shown in Fig. 5, and maintain a natural rate at which the dough withdraws from the trough and feeds into the twisted state. They serve to prevent either half of the strip from lagging back in the trough and stretching, or from prematurely feeding into the twisted state. When either of such conditions take place, one of the strips tends to hang straight, while the other coils around it and perfect strip of rolled and twisted dough will not be discharged from the machine to bake into a well-shaped loaf. In this device it will have been observed that I make use of one long piece of rolled dough which is delivered onto my machine from an adjacent rolling machine, but

obviously a pair of separate strips could be delivered simultaneously from adjacent rolling machines, one onto each of my troughs. In such a case, I might-replace the peg with an element designed to grip the inner end of each of the strips of dough, the pieces being thus parts of the whole strip which fall into each trough.

' I therefore prefer to refer in the following claims to the dough deposited into my machine as elongated piecesof rolled dough for the purpose of more clearly acclaiming this structure.

Since various modifications can be made in the above invention, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specif'lcation'shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense and I desire only such limitations placed thereon as are specifically expressed in the accompanying claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a mechanical device for twisting elongated pieces of dough, means for imparting torsion about the longitudinal axes of said pieces and means for twisting said pieces so that they assume a spiral formation, the degree of said torsion being in excess of that which would normally take place in the operation of twisting said pieces into said spiral formation when said pieces are held at one end thereof.

In a mechanical device for twisting elongated pieces of dough one about the other to produce a pair of entwined rolls having a straight common axis for the production of twisted bread, a plurality of troughs for receiving said elongated pieces of said dough, means for withdrawing said pieces of dough from said troughs comprising an element engageable with said pieces of dough at one end thereof, the said pieces of dough being twisted so as to assume a spiral formation upon leaving said troughs.

3. The device as claimed in claim 2 in which means are provided to process the pieces of dough hanging from said element to seal the ends thereof and prevent the untwisting of said ends.

4. The device as claimed in claim 2 in which means are provided integral with said troughs to rotate the pieces of dough lying therewithin to impart to the said pieces a torsion about the longitudinal axes thereof as they are withdrawn from said troughs and hang in a spiral formation upon said element.

5. The device as claimed in claim 2 in which means are provided for detachment of said pieces of dough from said element.

6. In a mechanical device for twisting elongated pieces of dough to a spiral formation, a plurality of substantially opposed troughs for receiving said elongated pieces of dough, said troughs consisting of a plurality of longitudinally disposed rotating members, means for withdrawing said pieces of dough from said troughs consisting of an element engageable with said pieces of dough, said dough being rotated within said troughs and twisting to a spiral formation upon withdrawal therefrom.

7. The device as claimed in claim 6 in which means are provided for removal of said pieces of dough from said device after withdrawal from said troughs.

8. In a mechanical device for twisting elongated pieces of dough to a spiral formation, a plurality of dough receiving troughs, said troughs being designed to twist the pieces of dough lying therewithin, means adjacent one end of each of said troughs for withdrawing the pieces of dough therefrom, a dough engaging element adjacent the inner end of said troughs, said pieces of dough being held at one point by said element against rotation about the longitudinal axes thereof, means for twisting said pieces of dough into a spiral formation after leaving said troughs, the said pieces of dough hanging in the said spiral formation upon said element.

9. The device as claimed in claim 8 in which means are provided for removing said pieces of dough from said device after withdrawal from said troughs.

10. The device as claimed in claim 8 in which means are provided for sealing the ends of said pieces of dough as they hang upon the said element.

11. In a mechanical device for twisting elongated pieces of dough to a spiral formation consisting of a pair of substantially opposed troughs rotatable about a common axis, said troughs comprising a plurality of longitudinally disposed rotatable members, feed rollersl between said troughs, a dough engaging element between said troughs, means for rotating said troughs about said common axis, means forrotating the members comprising said troughs, means for withdrawing said pieces of dough from said troughs upon rotation thereof and cause the same to hang in a spiral formation upon said element.

12. In a mechanical device for doubling and spiralling a strip of dough about itself, means for accomplishing the operation of doubling the strip into a pair of juxtaposed strands and means for spiralling said strands one about the other for the major portion of the length thereof.

13. The mechanism defined in claim 12 in which means are provided in association with said means for spiralling said strands for controlling the strands as they are spiralled one about the other.

14. The mechanism defined in claim 12 in which rotatable elements are provided in association with said means for spiralling said strands for controlling the strands as they are spiralled one about the other.

15. The mechanism defined in claim 12 in which feed rollers are provided in association with said means for spiralling said strands for controlling the strands as they are spiralled one about the other.

16. In a mechanical device for doubling and spiralling a strip of ydough about itself for the major portion of its length including at least two dough receiving troughs, means for controlling the behaviour of said dough upon removal thereof from said troughs, comprising an element adjacent one end of each of said troughs rotatable at a predetermined speed upon the actuation of said mechanism.

17. In a mechanical device for simultaneously spralling at least two pieces of dough each around the other for the major portion of their length, at least two troughs, a dough engaging element at the ends of the troughs, means for intermittently separating the troughs and said element and means for spirailing said dough while engaged by said element and as said dough leaves said troughs.

FREDERIC LANGTRY VAN ALLEN. 

